Yokohama mayoral candidates unite against casino resort plan

Every candidate standing in Yokohama's mayoral election has ruled out pursuing an integrated resort with casino for the city, according to reports of candidate statements and other materials reviewed by GGRAsia.

Seven candidates are contesting the election, due to be held on 18 October. None of them favours reviving a proposal that would bring a large-scale casino resort to Japan's second-largest city, the trade publication reported.

Why Yokohama's casino question keeps resurfacing

An integrated resort, or IR, is a large complex combining a casino with hotels, convention space and entertainment venues. Japan legalised casino gambling in 2018 as part of a broader push to attract tourism and investment, but only within such IR developments, and only in locations formally approved by the national government.

Yokohama was once seen as a strong contender for one of these licences. The city, a major port neighbouring Tokyo, considered an IR bid under a previous mayoral administration. That plan was shelved in 2021 after voters elected a mayor who campaigned against the project, following years of public debate over the social costs of a casino in the city.

What this means for Japan's casino programme

Japan's national IR scheme allows for a limited number of resorts nationwide. Osaka is currently the only location with an approved project moving forward, after other candidate cities, including Nagasaki and Wakayama, saw their bids falter or collapse entirely. A unanimous rejection by Yokohama's mayoral candidates effectively closes the door on the city re-entering that process for the foreseeable future.

For operators that had once eyed Yokohama as a potential market, the result reinforces a pattern seen elsewhere in Japan: local political resistance has proven a persistent obstacle to expanding the IR programme beyond Osaka.

What happens next

The mayoral election will determine who leads Yokohama's city government for the coming term, but with all candidates aligned against an IR, the outcome is unlikely to change the city's stance on casino development regardless of who wins.

Attention in Japan's gambling sector remains focused on Osaka, where construction of the country's first approved IR is under way, with operators and suppliers watching its progress as a test case for whether the policy can deliver the tourism and revenue benefits the government originally envisaged.

GGRAsia's report did not detail the individual candidates' reasoning, though opposition to IR projects in Japan has historically centred on concerns about problem gambling, local infrastructure strain and public opposition expressed in surveys and referendums.